The tourism board has gone so far as to urge people not to visit Cornwall, England, unless they have booked Covid tests before, during and after their stay. The problem is the increase in Covid cases. The Boardmasters Festival took place in Newquay between August 11-15 and was attended among others by Gorillaz, Foals and Jorja Smith. According to authorities’ estimates, about 5,000 people were infected after the event. In both Cornwall and Devon, another 500 cases have been recorded per 100,000 residents. The previous week’s figure was less than 300 per 100,000.
About 50,000 people attended Boardmasters and those who tested positive are now spread across the country. According to Newquay Mayor Louis Gardner, the problems don’t just come from the event: “We are experiencing a peak because we have more visitors than in the past. The accommodations are 100% full, there is no social distancing…I think all these factors together have the effect of a perfect storm.” A spokesperson for Boardmasters said the festival used the NHS Covid Pass, a type of green pass, rejecting 450 people at risk. However, a speaker specified that “no event is able to completely eliminate the risk”.
However, it is not the only outbreak in the UK that may be linked to summer festivals. After latitude, which occurred in Suffolk in late July, 1,000 people tested positive for Covid. The festival was one of the pilot events of the government’s Events Research Program that aimed to experiment with re-presenting large events without distance, and then quantifying their effects. Participants were asked to provide evidence of double vaccination or a negative test. In this case, of the 37,000 visitors from July 21-24, more than 1,000 people tested positive for anti-Covid scripts. Also in Suffolk, Director of Public Health Stuart Cable said it was “important that people continue to wear masks and stay away from them.” But after reading data from the Events Research Program, Secretary of State for Culture Oliver Dowden said: “We can safely reintroduce mass sporting and cultural events, but it is important that people exercise caution when they are in crowded environments.”
